ThinkPad T2x & T3x Series | Forum profile

The pure IBM is just another way to say a Thinkpad that was produced before Lenovo bought out the Thinkpad lineup. My dad uses a Lenovo Thinkpad already(I think it's an SL-series) for work, so I like to stick with the "purely IBM" Thinkpads. I might get a lenovo thinkpad soon, but for now, it's a T20, T42, or R-series if I'm lucky. Most T42s seem to have great hardware and capabilities over the T20, so...

Does it beep when you boot up? Or take both RAM modules out, and then try to boot. It should beep 1-3-3-1. If you still don't hear anything, you need to take the keabourd bezel off, to verify that you have any speakers inside the laptop at all!

Great, thank you very much, SMA! Now it makes me think the patch (maybe initially made by IBM/Lenovo?) is probably not related to the board's failure. I'll change the Title of this thread. But where should I start debugging a dead T30 board showing no activity at LEDs or fan. The only good voltages are at the 16 V supply, the 10.8V Li-ion and the CMOS battery. Any hints? Thanks, singbad

The prices on T30 systems seems to have decreased a lot lately. And T30 uses DDR memory which is much cheaper than the sdram used in T2x systems.

If you have actually removed the speaker assembly from the motherboard, then you should see four copper pads on the motherboard. See J6 in this scan: http://www.kawakami-ca.com/ibm_t2x/t22_ ... legend.jpg Clean the pads and related contacts on the speaker module with isopropyl alcohol. You can test the speakers if you have an ohmmeter but as I don't have a T2x speaker available at the moment, I can't tell you exactly how to connect...

Medessec wrote: Quote: The pure IBM is just another way to say a Thinkpad that was produced before Lenovo bought out the Thinkpad lineup. If you're looking at T42 line, you'll be much better off with ones produced under Lenovo...far lesser chance of GPU failure, and 99% of them will still bear IBM logos... I use T20 on almost daily basis at work, and it was definitely built very well, but even with 512MB RAM and 5400rpm HDD XP felt...

I removed the memory, and didn't hear any beeps. If I use headphones, I hear the beeps. It does have speakers, and they do look functional. I took the cover off and took a look at them tonight. I was hoping to find a dirty connection or something simple like that. I'm guessing something is toast on the motherboard.

i agree with you on the merits of T30 and this forum for getting great info.... T30 are good solid performers for most computing work and web surfing . For USB 2.0 pcmcia ,i use one with VIA rev5 chipset ,made in china ,no brand name ,cheapo unit but fast , also is recognised by XP pro( plug n play) -no installation cd required

I'd vote no. I have, and still sporadically use, a T20 (XP Pro) so I'm quite familiar with it. It was my first Thinkpad. I keep in in the master bath, and use it when I'm in the tub, on a board spanning the tub. I try my best to keep it bone dry, but if I were to slip up and splash it and it decided to expire, I guess it wouldn't be a horrid tragedy. Even maxed out on memory (I think that's half a gig) and with a 7200...

i think T4x series had more GPU problems than T20. i own T23 with 1.13GHZ and it is quite fast for playing videos, watching movies and surfing. but the screen quality of a T23 is not as good as that of a T4x series. So if you are looking for more reliability I would stick with T2x (assuming you are getting one in a good condition) but if you are going to be careful with the T4X then go for it all the way. It has much better screen, much better...